Lighting up is now prohibited in about 2 percent of the rental properties in Minnesota, according to Live Smoke Free.
RedRant: First off the comment I posted in the Star Tribune discussion section.
"according to Live Smoke Free, a program of the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota funded by a Minnesota Department of Health grant."
Hmm! A political advocacy group funded by public money? Hello!!!! This got it's start in California specifically San Francisco and Berkeley. A few problems. In the Bay Area they have very high housing costs so rental tenure is somewhat akin to property ownership. If the "lifer tenant" leaves the landlord can get far higher rent and rent to a friend. Also, in CA they have the idea that marijuana is "medicine". If "Dr. Feelgood" can give prescriptions for pot here will smoke free building have to allow people smoking pot but not smoking cigarettes? The next buildings at the SW corner of the Lake Street Bridge are smoke free. You often see slacker guys smoking on the front stoops. Hmm! Something tells me they are not leaseholders.
posted by bikemiles on May. 8, 09 at 2:04 AM
First off, "follow the money". First off, these anti-smoking organisations seemed to get the bulk of their funding from public money grants or pharmaceutical companies pushing anti-smoking "medications". The MN DOH has done good work on the recent flu pandemic. That said should they be in the business of funding political advocacy. This is a pattern which goes way back to "Smoke Free Minnesota" having almost unlimited public money to complain about the non-existant "big tobacco funding".
The tobacco settlement money was public. The Minnesota case was brought in the name of the public so the money is public despite any sleigh-of-hand in fund designation.
I don't have a problem with private market rental housing having a nonsmoking provision. The complex at the south west corner of the Lake Street bridge opened a few years back smoke free. No one was displaced. It is rental and I have seen no big "apartment available" signs so it must be working.
What is funny to watch is the smokers on the stoops. Especially, on Saturday and Sunday morning it's the "twenty-something" "slacker" type males on the stoop smoking. I live in the neighborhood and use the Lake Street Bridge often so I do a "stoop census". I can't recall a twenty-something women smoking on the stoop.
Go figure! Sounds like "twentysomething" single women who embraced the smoke free lifestyle are "picking up" smoking males.
Greg Lang http://freedomtoact.com
